Is there anyone on this board who thinks that jake long is worth as much as jamaal brown? Put another way, if brown was in the draft, with his KNOWN nfl caliber pro bowl level skill set, how could anyone draft Long, a completely unproven guy who may have plenty of talent but may be no better than robert gallery, over jamaal brown.

For anyone thinks that the rams should have taken jake long at #2 (which i believe is what the rams would have done had he been available), this deal is a no brainer if real.

The #10 pick in the draft is valuable. We will get a quality player, maybe a harvey to rush the passer. You will also get a PROVEN pro bowler at a position that at the minimum offers long term stability.

I would rather have will smith also. That is a better fit for us. I am a fan of alex barron and think he is unfairly maligned. I am not saying barron is a pro bowler, only that i think he is solid and the least of our problems. My problem with taking Jake Long was that unless he was going to play guard, i didnt see where he was going to improve our team this year as i am highly suspect that he would be an upgrade over barron, compared to the upgrade we could get at defensive end with chris long.

However, i just dont see how you can compare the productivity of a young pro bowl player with the uncertainty of a draft pick, especially when the draft pick will get even more money than brown makes. AND, throw in the #10 pick in the draft.

When i read that people think we should get something added in to the offer to account for the uncertainty i am beyond amazed since how does anyone equate certainty with a rookie that has never set foot on an nfl field.

I would make that trade, i think you have to. I just dont see how jake long is a better guy than jamaal brown straight up and when you throw in the #10 pick in the draft i just dont see how it doesnt make the rams a better football team.

I would suggest not moving this thread because i think its making a different point than a simple discussion of the potential trade with the saints, which is to address the proven nature of any young pro bowler vs. the uncertainty of a top pick in the current draft.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

-04-25-2008

81~BIG-GAME

Re: jake long vs jamaal brown

That's a very interesting post gc, as you say Long like all the top guys have potential to be great but they haven't played a single down in the Pro's to show they are worth the money they will get. As you pointed out Jamaal Brown has already been to a Pro-Bowl whereas nobody know's what the future holds for Jake Long. Hypothetical question, 5 years down the line who will have the better career?

-04-25-2008

tomahawk247

Re: jake long vs jamaal brown

i think the Rams FO is very interested in Jamaal Brown, however they are also interested in Will Smith, a pro bowl player at a position of big need.

There is still a lot of time before the draft. Any denial of a Jamaal Brown trade may be just so NO throw in Smith instead. Also, i think a Smith deal is a better deal for us, because it stops us reaching for a defensive end at some point, which we may do if we drop back to #10 and Harvey is already gone.

However, a trade back to #10 for Brown and grabbing Harvey would be a good move.

A trade back to #10 for Smith, drafting Sedrick Ellis and grabbing an OT in round 2 would be excellent

-04-25-2008

Rambos

Re: jake long vs jamaal brown

IMO we would have taken Jake Long only if C. Long was gone. Will Smith is another story, that we be a done deal. Smith and the 10th pick.

-04-25-2008

RebelYell

Re: jake long vs jamaal brown

I agree 100% with your premise that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. With J. Brown you know you are getting a talented player who has shown he has pro-bowl talent. With Jake Long you have a heck of a lot of promise but at his best, he'll only be marginally better than Brown and could possibly turn into a complete bust. Everyone is always so sure they know the outcome of these guys but they are complete unknowns.

Plus with a side note, J. Brown's contract is much more reasonable when compared to J. Long because the year he was drafted they had a glitch in the bargaining agreement and the contracts were structured differently.

Lastly, this assumes J. Brown doesn't have an issue we don't know about. I think way too much weight is given to draft picks compared to known commodities in the NFL.

-04-25-2008

CanadianRamsFan

Re: jake long vs jamaal brown

if this trade is offered you spend maybe 10 seconds to think about it and then take it. if we did this trade we would fill 3 holes for sure, our OT, DE and WR. That said i don't honestly think the saints would make this trade, but i hope they do.